Ben 10: Ancient Aliens
by The Prime Writer
Summary: Two weeks after Ben Tennyson begins another summer road trip with his cousin gwen and Grandpa Max, they head to the Navajo Reservation to deal with an alien werewolf they fought against last year. However, this werewolf is far different then the one they faced last year, and the journey the Tennysons will take this summer will blow their minds.
1. A New Adventure

To any and all who read this message, this is The Prime Writer, and this is my first attempt at fanfiction. To quote the History Channel show Ancient Aliens (an interesting show by the way, recommended to anyone interested in fringe theories and weird mysteries), "Millions of people around the world believe that we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if, it were true? Did aliens really influence our history?" This is my theory about how that might have worked in the Ben 10 Universe. If you saw the episodes where the Werewolf and the Mummy first appeared, you saw that they looked a lot like the Werewolves and Mummies of our culture. The Werewolf was even thought to be a Yenaldooshi, more commonly known as the Skinwalker by other Native Americans, by Wes Green before they found out he was an alien. This is an idea that I've had in my head for a while now, but I just recently got a page. I will likely not update all that often, or keep a very good schedule for uploading, but please, bear with me. Constructive criticism is asked for and appreciated, but no flaming please. The Ben, Gwen, and Max I will be using all take place after the film "Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens", simply because I like the original Ben 10 series the best. I admit to seeing quite a few Alien Force Episodes, and some Ultimate Alien, and they made some cool new aliens, but the Man of Action guys made way too many changes to the other series for my taste, especially with the most recent series. One more thing, their will be **no **Ben/Gwen relationship happening; that said, I have read a couple Ben/Gwen relationship pages, but I just feel a little bit weird about those two being boyfriend/girlfriend. If they weren't cousins, they may very well be a good couple. Anything from the Ben 10 Universe belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network. And so, without further ado, here's the first chapter of my first Fanfiction story.

Chapter 1: New Adventures

To many people, the slightly beat-up looking RV heading down the road to a small Ohio town looked fairly normal, and the people in it equally so. However, looks can be deceiving. The RV's occupants consisted of an 11 year old boy, an 11 year old girl, and a 61 year old man.

The boy has brown hair, green eyes, and pale skin, wearing a black-striped, white shirt with short sleeves, green slacks and black and white shoes with black stripes, and a bulky, green and black watch on his left arm.

The girl has short, orangey-red hair held by a blue hair clip in her bangs, green eyes, and pale skin, wearing a sky-blue shirt with dark-blue sleeves, the same blue as the cat-face logo in the middle, and white slacks.

The old man has white hair, brown eyes, a bit of a potbelly, and a few wrinkles on his face, wearing a white shirt, covered by a red button up shirt with a salmon-pink floral design, with blue jeans and black shoes.

Those people are Ben Tennyson, his cousin Gwen Tennyson, and their paternal grandfather Max Tennyson. As previously stated, these three people are not completely normal. You see, at the beginning of the previous summer, while camping outside Ben's hometown of Bellwood, Ben was on a walk through the woods when an object from space nearly crashed onto him. The object turned out to be some sort of pod, and when Ben reached the pod, it opened to reveal the very watch he now wears. The watch isn't actually a watch at all, but a piece of alien technology of great power, called the Omnitrix. The Omnitrix is a device that contains the DNA of at least 10,000 alien beings, and is able to turn the wearer of the Omnitrix into any one of these species for a brief period of time, gaining all that species powers and abilities in the process. The Omnitrix was created by Azmuth, a Galvan who is one of the smartest beings in the galaxy, as a way for others to, both literally and figuratively, walk a mile in another's shoe. However, there were many warlords, criminals, assassins, and crime lords who wanted to use the Omnitrix for evil purposes, so Azmuth sent it into deep space in the hopes that no one would misuse it. However, a powerful warlord named Vilgax attempted to gain the Omnitrix for himself, and an alien named Xylene attempted to keep it safe from harm by sending it to Max Tennyson, Ben's grandfather. However, Ben wound up with the Omnitrix instead, and it fused with his DNA. Since then, Ben has used the Omnitrix to help people wherever he goes, and has expanded his number of alien forms from the original 10 to a total of 26, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

Gwen has just as much to do with Ben's adventures and heroics as he does. In addition to her gymnastics and martial arts training and her natural intelligence and intuition, she has also become a powerful spell-caster, with great magical abilities that she's gained from practice and experience. On two occasions last summer, she put on a Mardi Gras costume she picked up in New Orleans and took the name lucky girl, and she still keeps the costume. Whenever Ben needed backup, Gwen was there to provide extra firepower and strategic and tactical advice, as well as to cover their escapes. She also does research using her laptop and local newspapers in searching for criminals or strange creature sightings that may warrant investigating. The have a love/hate relationship, and argue practically every hour, but they will always help each other in dangerous situations no matter what.

Grandpa Max also has much to do with their adventures. While he himself does not have any powers, he does have military and astronaut training, and he was also a plumber. However, he was not a plumber in the literal sense, as his grandkids believed, but a member of an intergalactic police force that considered Max one of their best agents. As such, he has great knowledge of extraterrestrial species and their technology. Max also has knowledge on a variety of Earth organizations and technology, and an impressive medical knowledge. He also has great moral wisdom, and is able to keep a calm head while in stressful situations. His RV, the Rustbucket, also has a fair amount of advanced technology, able to travel up to 300 MPH and is equipped with lasers, thrusters, a rocket launcher, an autopilot, a bungee cable, a rammer, an electrical discharger, and plumber-issue tracking systems. Max keeps a variety of advanced plumber tools and weapons at his disposal, and these often come in handy. Right now though, Max is once again trying to drown out the sounds of Ben and Gwen arguing over the TV; again.

* * *

"Give me the remote doofus." yelled Gwen, trying to take the TV remote from Ben. "Yeah right dweeb, the Sumo Slammers Mega Marathon is starting in 20 minutes, and I don't want to miss one second of It.", said Ben while barely keeping the remote out of Gwen's reach. "I think you can live with missing a few hours of cartoons." "Actually Gwen, it's a **10** hour marathon." Ben said while pushing her back. "All the more reason for me to make sure that you don't get the remote; I will not miss my favorite TV show because you want to hog the TV all to yourself". Finally, Max had reached his limit.

"Would the two of you _please stop __**fighting**_!" That finally getting them to settle down, though they still glared at each other. It had only been a week since he picked Ben up from Bellwood and they were already giving him headaches. Max sighed and looked at them. "Look you two, I'm going to stop at this gas station and refuel, maybe get some snacks. I think the two of you can get along for a few minutes." said Max as he pulled into the station. "Oh and Ben, no alien mischief of any sort, or you will be missing that marathon, got it." A now timid-looking Ben replied "Got it." And with that, Max left the Rustbucket.

Ben then proceeded to flop down on his bed and press a pair of buttons on the side of the Omnitrix. The center of the Omnitrix then popped up and started glowing, and a silhouette of one of the aliens appeared in the middle of the dial, which Gwen was quick to notice.

"Ben, you heard that Grandpa said no going alien." Ben, as usual, didn't listen. "He said no causing trouble while an alien; he didn't ban going alien specifically." "Ugh, whatever; since neither of the shows we want to watch comes on until 8:00 A.M., I am going to spend some time on my laptop." Ben started scrolling through the selection to help curb his boredom.

"Okay, lets see; I could change into XLR8 and go for a quick run, go Stinkfly and fly around for a bit, or maybe turn into Greymatter and see what I can tinker with." Gwen looked up from her laptop at that. "If that tinkering is going to turn out like what you did to the radio last week, then I wouldn't." The memory of that incident made Ben sit up on his bed with an indignant look. "Hey that was an accident and you know it." Gwen stared at him with a flat expression. "The Rustbucket was filled with smoke for hours, and it took Grandpa 3 days to fix the radio." Ben finally relented. "Fine, no Greymatter." Ben turned the dial again and found the silhouette of one of his more recent alien forms; one that he only used on one occasion last summer.

"Huh, here's that mummy I used back at Cape Canaveral. Never did come up with a name for him." Gwen looked up briefly from her laptop. "What about the werewolf and the Dr. Victor forms." Ben shrugged. "Same with them. Okay, lets see, for the mummy, I'll go with **Egyptalien**, for the Victor copy, **Conductorstein**. Hey Gwen, got any ideas for the werewolf?" Gwen looked up and smirked as she listed potential names.

"Fangy, Furface, Manwolf." Ben stared at her with an annoyed look. "Okay, those first two were just silly, and that last one sounds way too generic." Gwen replied "Hey, you asked." "Okay then, the best name I can come up for the werewolf is **Thunderhowl**. What do you think?" Gwen just shrugged and looked at something on her laptop, much to his annoyance. Then he glanced at the clock.

"The marathon's about to start!" "Wait, What, so is my show." They both stared at the remote for a few seconds before glancing at each other; then they began their usual scramble for the remote. "Ben, give me that remote." "Sorry doofus, not going to happen." As this was all happening, they were moving around the Rustbucket, bumping into things and knocking stuff off of the counter.

Meanwhile, Max had just come out of the gas station with two soda bottles and chip bags for his grandkids when he heard some yelling and banging coming from the Rustbucket. "Ugh, what are they doing this time?" He went inside and found them struggling over the remote on the floor.

"Benjamin, Gwendolyn." They turned and looked at him sheepishly. "If the two of you are fight like that again, I'd suggest you at least watch what you're doing. You almost knocked the Null Void Projector out of its case, and I'm pretty sure none of us would like to spend our summer in another dimension. Now I suggest that you either agree on what to watch, or you won't watch anything." Ben looked at Gwen pleadingly.

"Come on Gwen, you can see the new episode of your show online, but I can't do the same with the marathon, plus you never let me use the laptop." "Yeah, for good reason." "Come on Gwen, be a cousin?" Finally, Gwen relented. "Ugh, fine, but only if you half of my chores for a week." Ben thought for a second before nodding. "Deal, now on with the marathon."

However, when Ben turned on the TV, the first thing he saw was a news report detailing a breakout at a nearby jail. Ben turned off the TV as soon as the announcer was done. "So much for the marathon." "You could beat those guys up as revenge." "That's true." Ben popped the dial back up and selected and alien. "All right then, its **Hero Time**."

As soon as he pushed the dial down, he was enveloped in a green light and began to change. His body's carriage shifted and lengthened, stretching his torso while his legs slimmed and became more _canine._ His arms lengthened, reaching down to his knees, and his back arched more, while his hands and feet developed large claws. His spine developed a tail, which grew furry, matching the fur that was sprouting out of his skin. His ears grew longer and shifted to the top of his head, as his jaw shifted ahead of his face, melding with his nose, and separating into four sections. When the change was done, Ben had turned into a werewolf-like being covered in blue-gray and dark blue fur, with black-and-light gray pants and an Omnitrix dial on his waist. Max raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ben.

"Isn't that the werewolf that worked for Ghostfreak?" Ben replied in a deeper voice. "Yeah, except now he's called Thunderhowl." "I still like the idea of Furface." "Very funny Gwen, now if you'll excuse me." At that, Ben, as Thunderhowl, opened the Rustbucket door and ran off on all fours in the direction of the breakout.

* * *

A few minutes after Ben left, the phone in the Rustbucket rang, which Max answered. "Hello, this is Max Tennyson. Wes, is that you. It's good to hear you…what? So he's still there. Has he tried anything? Got it, I'll get down there with Ben as soon as possible." Max then hung up. Gwen was curious.

"What's going on Grandpa?" "Remember the werewolf that we fought in the Navajo Reservation, and later at Cape Canaveral?" Gwen nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah." "Well he's back." This caused Gwen's eyes to widen. "Apparently he's been living in the desert on the reservation since Ghostfreak's plan failed, but Wes didn't know for sure until recently." "Has he done anything?" "Wes said that he hasn't done anything other then steal some tools and electronic equipment from some campers and townsfolk. A few people say they saw a werewolf, but never long enough to get clear look. That is until a camper got a blurry photo with his phone a couple days ago. That was enough proof for Wes to call us for help. I told him we'll be there to help as soon as possible." Gwen got suspicious look on her face.

"So, we'll be meeting Wes again, and maybe his granddaughter, Kai." Her face darkened as she said the name of Ben's crush from the previous summer, and Max noticed. "You still don't like her very much, do you?" "Hey, I heard her tell Ben that he only liked him for the Omnitrix, and she was Ben's first crush. So, no I don't like her. " "Believe me Gwen, Wes has had words with her over her reasons for liking Ben, but she's a good person overall. Give her a chance, and you two just might become friends." "Yeah, I doubt that." Max sighed and looked at Gwen. "Well in any case, we'll be leaving as soon as Ben gets back. Wonder how he's doing?" Gwen allowed a small smile to place itself on her face. "Knowing Ben, I'm sure most of the bad guys will beat in under 10 minutes."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Hocking Correctional Facility, most of the guards had recaptured many of the wannabe escapees before they could get very far. However, about 22 prisoners, armed with chains, shivs*, and lead pipes, had successfully captured 9 guards, cuffed them with their own handcuffs, and were holding them hostage near the warden's office. The ringleader of the almost escaped prisoners, a tall, lean Hispanic man with a ponytail, wielding a stolen pistol, looked confident.

"Well boys, looks like we got us a few bargaining chips; what say we put them to good use." The others laughed and murmured their agreements. One of the captured guards, a rookie, spoke up. "Hey Juarez, why are you doing this; you only had a couple months left in prison." The leader, Juarez, looked at the guard.

"Listen gringo, I know you're new here, so I'll say it slow: crime pays a lot more then you think. And if any of you try to stop me, I won't hesitate to put you out of **our** misery". The other prisoners chuckled at this. The captured guards looked worried; they didn't see how they were going to get out of this. None of the guards or prisoners noticed a large, wolf-like shadow pass by.

"Hey boss, what if the other guards try to shoot us even if we use our hostages?" Juarez looked at the prisoner who spoke and smirked. "Well my friend, we just use them as human shields, and maybe shoot one to let them know we business." This got the guards even more worried. Thunderhowl heard what the guy said, and knew that he had to act fast. So he dropped down right in front Juarez and growled at the criminals. They all looked at the werewolf with fear and disbelief.

"Okay guys, the way I see it, you have two choices: you can surrender yourselves and go back to your cells nice and quite, or you can try and fight me, and get your backsides handed to you." As the crooks backed away, Juarez looked at them. "Come on you gringos, it's just a dumb dog on two legs, and theirs a lot more of us then he can fight; we can take this thing easily." That restored the crook's confidence, and they all rushed at him, swinging chains and brandishing their weapons. Thunderhowl muttered "They always choose the hard way."

As the first two guys came at him, Thunderhowl just grabbed them and slammed their heads together, knocking them out. As another half-dozen came at him, he ducked under ones chain-swing before grabbing him and tossing him into two more, sweeping the legs out from under another after that, and knocking the other two out with an uppercut and a backhand. He then flipped over another two and knocked them away with a clothesline. Juarez tried to shoot Thunderhowl with his pistol, but he dodged every bullet until the gun ran out of ammo. "Come on gringos, **get him**." Several other prisoners joined the fray, but Thunderhowl was too fast and agile for them too catch. The two prisoners whom Thunderhowl beat first got up and tried to sneak up on him, but Thunderhowl heard them and clothslined them, slamming them both into the wall. One of the prisoners tried to grab him in a chokehold, but Thunderhowl snapped his head back and broke his nose, before grabbing him and throwing him into two more. By then, Juarez and the rest of the prisoners had had enough, and tried to run for the exit, dragging a pair of hostages along with them. Thunderhowl quickly ran up to the escaping criminals and tossed them aside with a series of punches, freeing the two guards before cutting the cuffs on the others.

By then, most of the crooks had managed to get their second wind. Juarez, his ponytail having come undone in the scuffle, looked especially angry, and put a fresh magazine in his pistol before aiming it at Thunderhowl. "Alright mutt, time for you to be put to sleep." Thunderhowl looked at him and responded with "What died and made you so smug?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he opened up his quad-hinged jaws and unleashed a sonic blast that knocked almost all the wannabe escapers out cold. Those few that were still conscious did the smart thing and surrendered. Thunderhowl turned to the guards.

"You guys okay?" One of them responded, somewhat nervously "Y-yes, were fine; thanks for the help." "No problem." With that, Thunderhowl ran off, leaving behind some beat up prisoners and a few thankful but confused guards.

* * *

Before long, he had arrived at the Rustbucket. Just as he was leaving the bush, the Omnitrix symbol on his waist started beeping and glowing red. A few seconds later, a red light engulfed Thunderhowl, leaving Ben Tennyson in its wake. As soon as Ben walked back in the Rustbucket, Grandpa Max greeted him.

"Okay Ben, get settled, were heading to the Navajo Reservation." Ben sat down while Max started the Rustbucket. "Okay, I know you and Mr. Green are friends, but I'm not too sure I want to head there again." "I know things didn't work out between you and Kai, but this isn't a friendly visit. Our werewolf friend has been active recently." Ben's eyes widened at that. "He is, but I thought he blew up with that transmitter." Gwen filled him in on the details.

"Apparently he's been living on the reserve since we stopped Ghostfreak, but he hasn't done anything except steal some tools and electronics from campers, hikers and residents." "What do you think he's doing?" This time it was Max who answered. "I don't know what he's doing, and neither does Wes, but we're going to find out." Ben replied with his usual enthusiasm "And we're going to kick his butt again." Gwen responded with a cautious look on her face.

"Careful Ben, we don't know what he's planning. For all we know Dr. Victor and the Mummy might be with him, and they might be working on another way to bring back Ghostfreak." Ben paused and looked at Gwen with a determined look. "We'll stop him, I know we will." Gwen gave a small smile before frowning again. "I'm also not very keen on meeting Kai again. You know what happened between you two." This reminder caused Ben to sink in his seat and look at the floor. "Yeah, please don't remind me." Max responded to that with "Don't worry Ben, Wes talked to her about that and I'm sure she'll apologize". This time it was Gwen who responded.

"Again, I highly doubt that." "Just wait, I'm sure she'll come around." By then, Grandpa Max had started the Rustbucket and they began their journey to the Navajo Reservation. However, they did not know that this summer would become just as crazy, if not more so, then the last one.

* * *

* A shiv, also called a shank, is a slang term for any sharp or pointed object used as a knife or dagger, generally an improvised object. A shiv can be a broken and pointed toothbrush handle, a glass shard with one end wrapped in fabric, or a razor blade stuck into a small stick. Shivs have historically been made and used as improvised weapons by prisoners across the world.

And my first chapter is complete. If anybody read it, I hope you liked it. If you have any complaints or advice you would like to share, you are welcome to do so. You can flame if you really want to, but I won't appreciate it. Also, sorry if you didn't get as much action as you wanted, but that was my first fight sequence. If you have any suggestions, please share them. Just so you know, the second chapter is complete, but I'm going to wait a few days to upload it so that I can get some suspense built up. Next chapter, Ben, Gwen and Grandpa Max meet Wes and Kai at the reservation, and Wes explains exactly what's been going on with the Werewolf. Also, things get awkward between Ben and Kai, and Gwen starts acting fairly hostile towards her. Later, Ben, Max and Wes go searching for the Werewolf. They find him and his campsite, but he is not the same werewolf they remember, nor will they expect what he will do, or say. Until then, this is The Prime Writer, signing off.


	2. Two meetings and a Surprise

Welcome those who read my previous chapter to the second chapter of my first story. If you remember correctly, this is that chapter where they meet Wes and Kai Green at the Navajo Reservation before they go searching for the Werewolf. For those who may not know, or remember, Kai was a Navajo girl Ben started crushing on in a Season 3 episode of the first Ben 10 series. She seemed to return Ben's feelings for her until the end of the episode, when she stated that she hoped for Ben to stay in his alien werewolf form, and she brushed them off after Gwen told her [Kai] off. I thought that I might show Kai in a more positive light, and give a reason why she liked Ben the way she did; also, I'll be giving Kai a bit of back-story to try and develop her character a bit more. Anyway, three of the characters do meet the werewolf near the end of this chapter, and as you may have figured out from the title, they are in for a big surprise. Anything from the Ben 10 Universe belongs to Man of Action and Cartoon Network. Now that the info is told and the disclaimer is out of the way, we shall go on with the story.

Chapter 2: Two Meetings and a Surprise

It took three days to drive from Ohio to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona; three days before Ben and Gwen met Kai again, and possibly battle the werewolf again. Ben and Gwen both had mixed feelings about this; Ben was looking forward to beating the werewolf again, but he believed that he and Kai would feel very awkward around each other; Gwen knew she had to help beat the werewolf, but she was not looking forward to meeting Kai again. Both had good reason to not look forward to Kai.

Last summer, Ben started crushing on her when they were visiting Max's friend, Wes Green, on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Despite Ben becoming more and more like a werewolf, she seemed to return the feelings. However, when Ben suggested that they see each other again, Kai said that she preferred Ben as a werewolf, because she wanted to, as quoted, "train and tame him". She did have an interest in him before he turned into a werewolf but the interest was about the Omnitrix, and she was given a stern talking to by Gwen after she admitted to both reasons. So it was quite reasonable that neither of the two were eager to see Kai again.

However, the importance of finding out what the werewolf was up too meant they would have to see her again, whether they wanted to or not. When the group arrived at the reservation, it looked the same as the time they visited the previous summer; some trash in the streets, a lot of small busineses now closed up for the night, traditional looking pueblos interspersed with a few modern houses. They arrived in front of a museum containing Navajo artifacts, with Kai and Wes Green out front.

Kai was the same height as Gwen, with black hair reaching her upper-back, tanned-brown skin, and golden-brown eyes, wearing a red, button-up T-shirt, a pair of jean pants, and a pair of sandals.

Her grandfather Wes Green is about the same height as Max, with tanned-brown skin, brown eyes, and grey hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing a light-tan shirt, a brown vest over that, and blue jeans. Upon seeing Max, he smiled and gave him a hug. "It is good to see you Max". "Likewise Wes; I just wish it was under better circumstances".

Neither of them really seemed to notice that their respective grandkids were in an awkward situation. Kai was absently rubbing her arm and staring at the ground, while Ben stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked around while Gwen folded her arms and stared pointedly at Kai. Finally, Ben broke the silence.

"So, what's the werewolf been up to?" Wes answered his query. "As far as I know, which isn't very much, all he's been doing is steal tools, camp equipment and electronics from campers, hikers, and townsfolk". Max asked with concern in his voice "What kind of electronics has he been stealing?" "Solar panels, laptops, I-pods, I-pads, flashlights, cell phones, video cameras, a couple tasers from security guards, the like. The largest item he's stolen is a portable backup generator from the local power plant." Ben looked confused.

"That's not the same stuff he was stealing last time." "I know; I have no idea what he's doing." Thunder started rolling in from the distance. "Perhaps we should discuss this inside." With that, they went into the museum.

* * *

Once they were in the museum, Wes showed them a blurry photo of a tall, dark-blue wolf-like creature near a ravine, with a small pack slung over his shoulder and the sun setting on the horizon.

"This is the photo that was taken just last week. Their have been a few sightings over the past year, but they were only fleeting glimpses, not enough for me to warrant calling you. We've also found a few pit traps and trip wires the past few months, but they were all of the beaten path and no one's fallen into any." Gwen asked Wes "Why would he be setting traps?" "We found some fur and blood near a few of the traps, but none of it was human; my guess is the werewolf is setting them up so he can get some food."

Ben asked pensively "What else has the wolf been stealing". "Camping tents, charcoal, firewood, a propane grill and some fuel, water, a couple sleeping bags, occasionally some food, but never very much." Max looked thoughtful. "Where was the last place anyone saw him." Wes got out a map. "The last sighting was where the photo was taken. A quarter of the sightings have been near this junkyard here."

Gwen looked at Wes and asked "What's a werewolf doing at a junkyard". Wes answered "According to the people who saw him there, he's been stealing car parts and pieces of wood and metal from the various piles of garbage and junk, though I still don't know why." Wes looked back to the map. "All the sightings have taken place within 20 miles of this ridge right here. That's likely where he's set up a camp of some sort. Ben, Max and I will cover that area and search for any sign of the werewolf. If he has help or advanced weapons, we'll have to call in the National Guard, or maybe a few plumber friends."

When Wes had finished, Kai finally spoke. "Why can't I go with you guys; you know that I know as much about the area as you do, and tradition aside, I'm good with a bow and arrow." Ben stared at her. "You've used a bow and arrow?" Kai answered with a small smile. "My grandpa's been teaching me since I was 7." Wes looked at Kai. "I understand you want to help, and I appreciate that, but this isn't just about tradition; it's about making sure my family is safe. I trust you can remain here with no problems." Kai nodded and walked a distance away.

Wes looked at Ben and Gwen. "I understand that things are…difficult between the 3 of you, but Kai does regret her reasons for liking Ben. Just give her a chance, and she'll make it up to you." They both nodded, but Gwen looked doubtful. Max looked at Wes and asked "When should we start searching?" "The storm should pass in a couple hours; we'll begin our search then." Max nodded and went to get some items from the Rustbucket.

Ben saw Kai over by the tapestry depicting the Yenaldooshi and, taking a deep breath, went to try to talk to Kai. "Uh, hey Kai." "Hey, Ben." They both stood their in an awkward silence for a couple minutes before Ben said "Ever notice how every time we meet, we fight a werewolf?" Kai nodded before saying "Look Ben, I'm sorry about what I said last time you were here, about taming you and training you, I just didn't know what I was thinking at the time."

Ben looked at her and said "Really, cause normally it's the guy who doesn't think instead of the girl." Kai gave a small smile at that. "I guess it does seem stereotypical for guys to not think very clearly." They stood in a more comfortable silence for another couple minutes. "I know we're still feeling a bit awkward, but, maybe we can have a truce; at least for now."

Ben smiled and replied "Defiantly; good luck talking to Gwen though, she can hold grudges a lot longer then me, trust me on that." Kai's smile dimmed a bit. "That's what I was afraid of, but I'm still going to try to talk to her." She then started walking towards Gwen, who glared a bit as she came near.

"What do you want?" Kai frowned at the harsh tone of voice, but she didn't let it faze her. "I just came to apologize for what happened last time we met." Gwen looked doubtful. "Really?" "Yes Gwen, really. I already apologized to Ben, and he's agreed to call a truce. I was hoping we could do the same." "Well you've wasted your time." At that, Gwen walked away.

Kai shaked her head sadly before walking back to Ben. "You we're right, she didn't listen." Ben looked sympathetic. "I told you she wouldn't. She'll come around eventually, but I'm not sure we'll be around that long." Kai gave a small smile. "Guess I'll have to keep trying." Ben also gave a small smile.

* * *

By the time the storm had passed, Max and Wes were ready. Max had gotten out a fairly large plasma-pistol that he said was "Plumber standard issue.", while Wes had gotten a bolt-action hunting rifle and a machete, the latter of which was for both cutting away brush and for self defense. Max smiled a bit as Ben walked up. "So Ben, have you talked to Kai yet?" Ben shrugged and gave a small smile.

"We talked a bit, she apologized, and I accepted the apology. Gwen didn't listen though; big surprise there." Max shook his head and smiled sadly. "I kind of expected that to happen. Hopefully she'll come around before we have to leave." Wes walked up to them with his rifle in hand and his machete sheathed at his side. "Are you both ready?" Max answered this with a determined look on his face. "As ready as we'll be."

Wes nodded before looking at Ben. "Ben, I believe it would be best if you turned into something that will let you track the werewolf, or perhaps something that will cover large amounts of ground in a short period of time." Ben gave a quick nod. "Got it." Wes and Max looked at each other and nodded in mutual understanding. "Let's go." And with that, they hopped into a 4-door Jeep Wrangler that Wes had borrowed and drove off, leaving Kai and Gwen behind; understandably, they were feeling very awkward. Kai spoke first.

"So, anything you want to do." Gwen's response was cold. "Anything but hang out with you." And with that, Gwen huffed and walked away, leaving behind a slightly hurt Kai. Kai sighed and decided to wait for a little bit before trying to talk to Gwen again.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ben, Max and Wes were driving to the site where the photo was taken. It wasn't too much longer before they arrived at the site, a clear patch of ground near a small ravine, with a fair amount of brush nearby.

"The person who took the photo said he found his tent open and that his video camera and a couple flashlights were missing. He saw some footprints and followed them until he saw the werewolf; apparently he's the one who stole them. The werewolf saw him and ran into the ravine, but not before that picture was taken." Ben looked down into the ravine, thinking which alien he should choose. Coming to a decision, he popped up the Omnitrix dial and pushed down when he found his chosen form, again being engulfed in a flash of green light.

His skeleton began to morph, becoming lighter, sleeker. His legs lengthened, shrinking and condensing, with his leg muscles turning denser as his feet contracted into a pair of claws, each gripping a small black sphere. His arms shortened and slimmed down as his hands melded into pincer-like, razor-sharp black claws. His nose shrunk down to nearly nothing, his eyes turning a bright yellow as his skull extended backwards into a sleek, bony fin.

When the light faded, Ben was a fairly tall, sleek, ultra-light, Velociraptor-like creature, with blue scales instead of skin, clad in a skintight, green-black bodysuit, with the control-dial embedded on the chest, a high-tech helmet framing his face, and a long, lizard-like tail. Wes looked at Ben's new form with curiosity.

"I have seen that being on the news sometimes, but I forget what it's called." Ben answered in a raspy voice "I call this guy, **XLR8**." At that, the nano-tech face-helmet snapped down, allowing XLR8 to zoom off at 300 MPH speeds, becoming a blue-and-black blur, reaching the creek at the bottom of the ravine in 3 seconds flat. Once there, XLR8 snapped up the helmet to let him look around.

He saw a few old tracks in the drying mud, but they were disturbed by water and other animals. Max and Wes arrived at the bottom and noticed the tracks as well. Wes took a couple minutes to look at the tracks and said "These tracks are a week old, most likely from that last sighting." XLR8 commented "Too bad we can't follow them; the other animals have muddled them up to much." Wes looked at him with a wry smile.

"Never underestimate Navajo trackers, especially one with Plumber training." Wes took another look at the tracks. "They may be messed up, but we can still determine their age and the general direction of their path." Wes began slowly walking alongside the remains of the werewolf footprints, following their path as they veered away from the creek and disappeared near a split in the ravine. XLR8 looked a bit confused.

"Okay, which way do we go?" Instead of answering, Wes looked at the grass and shrubbery near the intersection. Picking through one of the bushes near the larger intersection, he pulled out a small clump of fur the same color as Thunderhowl's fur. Wes pointed down the larger of the two ravine-branches and said "The bush this fur got stuck in was near this path here, so he likely went that way." Max looked at Wes and asked "Is their anything down this pat that we should know of?" Wes nodded before continuing.

"A little ways down this path is a sort of natural ramp. Once you climb up that ramp and out of this ravine, you'll see a large outcropping of huge boulders, and just behind them is a series of tall, flat-topped rocks, all but invisible to anyone unless you climb the boulders that keep them hidden from sight."

Max's face gained a mix of worry and thoughtfulness. "Good hiding place, hard to reach, provides a good vantage point; sounds like a natural fortress." XLR8 asked "How far are those boulders from here, and what's the straightest path?" Wes answered "The natural ramp I mentioned is a couple hundred meters down from that pat from here. Run all the way up that, and then look to your right; you'll see a large rock outcrop a couple miles in that direction. Run there and wait for us."

XLR8 looked at Wes and asked "Why should I wait, I can beat that wolf easy." Max put his free hand on XLR8's shoulder and answered "By the time you reach that outcrop, the Omnitrix will be nearly out of power, and I'm sure that Ben Tennyson would be **beaten **by that wolf easy." XLR8 nodded in understanding before snapping down the mask and running down the path mentioned by Wes, soon coming upon the natural ramp mentioned.

XLR8 slowed down a bit to turn and ran up said ramp before stopping at the top of the ravine. Looking around, he saw the outcrop mentioned by Wes a couple miles to his right and quickly ran towards it, reaching the base in a couple minutes. XLR8 snapped up the mask and looked up at the tall rocks, with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hmm, maybe I can …" but he got no further, as the Omnitrix started beeping just then. A couple seconds later, a bright red light engulfed XLR8, leaving regular old Ben in its wake as it dissipated. A now normal Ben looked dismayed. "Never mind."

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Navajo town, Gwen was sitting in the Rustbucket reading her spell book, while Kai was sitting on a chair outside the Rustbucket, deep in thought. Her thoughts had passed from apologizing to Gwen (she tried again already and was again rebuffed) to worrying about Ben and their respective grandfathers. She knew she shouldn't be worried, Ben had the Omnitrix and both their grandfathers were trained as intergalactic policemen, and her grandfather was easily the best tracker she knew. Still, Kai could not help but worry for the safety of the three of them, especially her Grandfather.

Neither Ben nor Gwen knew this, but Kai lost her parents when she was 5. Her grandfather was watching over her while her parents went out to a nearby town to get some groceries. Recent rain, a narrow road, and a sharp turn all combined to cause her parents to be in a major car crash, requiring them to be sent to the hospital. Her mom died an hour after the crash, while her dad lasted three days. Kai can still remember those days she visited her father in the hospital, how he seemed to be on the road to recovery until he suffered an unexpected organ failure and had to be rushed into emergency surgery. Despite the best efforts of the attending doctors, her dad died in the operating table.

He grandfather became her legal guardian, and a fair portion of money, given to her by their parents in their last will and testaments, was placed in a trust fund until she was old enough for college. She didn't have very many memories of her parents before they died, but she treasured each and everyone.

Her grandpa started teaching her the Navajo Language as a way of coping, and she started learning archery and self-defense on the 2nd anniversary of their deaths for the same reason. She understood why her grandfather stuck to traditions, and why she was always told to stay behind when something dangerous happens, but she felt like her grandfather was traditionalist, too strict about ancient rules when they could be adapted to modern times.

She may be just 11, but Kai is certain that she can easily handle herself in a fight, close-range or long-range. She knew for a fact that Gwen can handle herself jus as well, if not better, but there was now way that she could convince her to help her go after Ben and their grandfathers. So far, Gwen has remained completely hostile to her, ignoring her and sniping at her whenever she tried talking to her or even approached her. Getting up from her chair, Kai decide to give apologizing to Gwen one last try.

* * *

Kai entered the Rustbucket to find Gwen sitting at the table, reading a small book. Gwen noticed her and sent her a brief glare before looking back to her book. Kai took a deep breath and began talking to Gwen.

"Okay Gwen, I know you don't like me, but listen. I'm truly and honestly sorry that I liked Ben for the reasons I did last year. I've already apologized to Ben, he's accepted and we've called a truce, so I want to know why we can't do the same." Gwen just turned a page in her book, which annoyed Kai. "Alright then, you leave me no choice."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she quickly and cleanly snatched the book Gwen was reading right out of her hands. This obviously angered Gwen. "Hey, give that back." Gwen reached for the book only for Kai to hold it out of her reach. "Not until you tell me why you haven't accepted my apology like Ben has."

Gwen's eyes narrowed. "Alright then, I'll tell you why. I'm specifically trying to keep Ben away from you so that you don't hurt him again." Kai looked a bit incredulous at that last bit. "You really think I would try to hurt him again? I admit I was selfish, but I've learned from my mistake; why can't you see that."

Gwen continued when Kai answered that question. "Regardless of how often me and Ben fight, we do care for each other; I saw the hurt in his eyes after you told him that you wanted to '_tame him and train him'_. You were his first crush, and if theirs one thing I know about guys, it's that they're stubborn and persistent; if they get rejected by a girl, they're bound to try again, and maybe again, and they may get hurt again." Gwen's eyes softened a bit as she finished. "I don't want Ben to go through that."

Kai's eyes were slightly narrowed as she answered. "Okay, I can more-or-less understand why you think I might do that, but let me explain a few things to you: those habits of guys being stubborn and persistent you mentioned do happen, but only to _teenage _guys; Ben was 10 when I told him why I liked him, not a teenager. I know this sounds repetitive, but I apologized to him and he forgave me; now I'm trying to do the same to you. At least you'll know I'm sorry, even if you never really forgive me. And one more thing: exactly how much experience do you have dating guys for you to be sure of them all being stubborn and persistent?"

Gwen's eyes lost their glare as Kai went on, before widening a bit at that last question. Truth be told, Gwen has had little experience with boys, partially due to her overprotective mother and her busy schedule. When she did have a crush on a boy, she usually would just say a few sentences to said boy at a time, and had never worked up the nerve to ask one out; Ben would rib her about that for weeks if he found out about that.

What she told Kai about guys about being stubborn and persistent was not from personal experience; in reality, she got that impression from cartoons and sitcoms. After a few minutes Gwen replied in a neutral voice "Maybe your being sincere, and maybe I can stop being openly hostile, but I still don't want to take any chances." Kai looked at Gwen and said "I can understand why you don't like me, but all I'm asking is for us to call a truce; Ben agreed." Gwen took a few minutes to think before sighing and giving Kai her answer.

"Alright, I can agree to a truce." Kai gave a small smile before Gwen narrowed her eyes and continued. "But let me give you a warning: if you hurt Ben again, in any way, I will hurt you back. Clear?" Kai nodded and said "Deal." She gave Gwen back her spellbook and left the Rustbucket, leaving Gwen with her thoughts. Kai sat back down on the chair, hoping that Ben and their grandfathers were still okay.

* * *

A few minutes after Ben reached the rock formation, Max and Wes had caught up with him in Wes's borrowed jeep. Ben approached them and said "I found some tracks a little over that way." Ben pointed to a small patch of dust a few meters from the jeep. Wes looked for himself before nodding. "These prints are fresh, no more then a day old. They lead up this shallow incline."

At that he pointed a sort of natural path that lead up the formation. Max looked at the path and where it led to. "My guess is that our furry friend is camped somewhere up there. Ben, is the Omnitrix charged up?" Ben looked at the now green face of the Omnitrix before nodding. Wes looked at Ben and asked with some confusion "What form do you plan to take this time?" Ben popped up the dial before replying "How about I show you".

Once Ben had found the alien he had in mind, he pushed down the dial and was again enveloped in a green light. His cells became filled with chlorophyll, turning his skin green and giving it a plant-like texture. His two legs became five and began changing into roots or vines, his arms lengthened and developed sharp claws, while black seeds sprouted on his back. A pair of flaps similar to those on Venus Flytraps covered his head before they opened to reveal a small head with a single blue eye in the middle.

When the light faded, Ben was now a fairly tall, green-skinned, plant-like being with five vine-like legs, four long fingers on his hands and flytrap-shaped flaps covering his head. He also has blue colored bulbs on his shoulders, seed pods on his back that can either be used as explosives or smoke bombs, one blue eye in the middle of his face, and the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. Wes's eyes widened with recognition.

"That's the plant thing I saw you change into last year. What did you call it again?" Ben simply answered "**Wildvine**" before looking to Max. "What do we do now?" Max rubbed his chin in thought for a second before he answered. "My guess is that the werewolf doesn't know were here, at least not yet. Ben, you go underground and travel up there to see if the werewolf's nearby; if the coast is clear, wave at us and we'll come up. If we can sneak up on the wolf, you can travel underground and restrain its limbs and jaws, giving me and Wes a clear shot at it."

Wes and Ben nodded in agreement before Ben started tunneling into the ground. In about a minute, Ben had reached the top of the ridge, giving him a clear view of the surrounding area, including a large campsite. Max was correct about this place when he said it sounded like a natural fortress. The large boulders kept a large, relatively flat spot out of sight, while at the same time giving anyone hiding here a birds-eye view of the surrounding area.

Wildvine turned to Max and Wes and waved his arms at them. They nodded run up the path to him, looking down at the campsite when they reached the top. Max looked at them and asked "Are you guys ready?" Wildvine answered him with "As ready as we'll be, given the circumstances." Max nodded and said "Alright then, let's go." With that, the group headed down the path to the campsite, ready to face an ally of one of the Tennyson's worst enemies.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few miles away, a hunter was on the prowl. However, this hunter was not a human with a shotgun and a camo-vest. Instead, it was the very same werewolf the group was after, armed with a handmade crossbow and a stolen machete. Also, the werewolf was not hunting them, but instead he was tracking his latest meal. He moved swiftly and silently, traveling like a gust of wind, leaving little-to-no trace that he was ever in any location.

The werewolf stopped and looked at an indentation in the ground, a _recent_ one; his prey was near. Moving swiftly, the werewolf soon saw his quarry: a tan-brown animal with long, slim legs ending in hooves, a small tail, a white underbelly, and a pair of antlers on its head. A Mule Deer, if he understood the human name correctly.

The werewolf remained silent, positioning his crossbow so that the bolt would hit the lungs. His shot hit home, the Mule Deer dropping instantly. The werewolf approached his fallen prey, which was still breathing, before chopping his head off with his machete. After that, he sent a prayer to the spirit of the Mule Deer, thanking him for allowing him to eat his meat and use his hide.

Just as the werewolf was packing up his kill, his nose picked up a few scents in the direction of his camp. Two of them were human, elderly ones, but the other had one scent mixed with another. The majority of that scent was Florauna, but the rest of it was human, and not just any human: it was the same male child who defeated Zs'Skayr and freed him from enslavement.

Holstering his weapons and slinging the dead Mule Deer over his shoulders, he sprinted towards his camp as fast as he could on two legs. The werewolf knew he was taking a risk; he was sure that the boy did not know that he was under Zs'Skayr's influence, but for honors sake he had to take the risk. He only hoped that the boy and his companions would fully understand what had happened to him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Max, Wes, and Wildvine had climbed down the path to the werewolf's campsite. The site consisted of several stolen tents of various sizes surrounding a large fire-pit, a small alter made of found stones, a pile of pieces of wood and metal, a pair of partly-completed, self-built vehicles made from the car parts Wes said were stolen from the junkyard, a pair of what appeared to be basic forges outside the largest tent, and an array of stolen solar panels on a ridge just exposed enough so that they could catch a decent amount of sunlight without too much risk of damage.

Wildvine looked around before looking at Wes and Max. "I'm not sure the wolf is here." Wes looked around before looking back at Wildvine. "I'm certain your right, but we must remain on guard. Split up and look in the tents; if you see anything of interest, be sure to let us know." At that, they each began inspecting a tent.

Wes opened the flap of one and found it looked like it was well-used, likely being a living tent; this fact was supported by the various personal possessions scattered around the tent. The smaller one next to it contained charcoal and firewood for the fire-pit and propane for the stolen grill.

The one Wildvine looked in stored various tools and short-range and long-range weapons, some of which looked hand-forged, and the one next to that stored much of the food that was stolen from hikers and campers, and some that looked like it was obtained from animals that the werewolf had hunted.

Max opened the flap of the largest tent, which had the currently unused forges in front of it, and looked around briefly before yelling out "I found something I think you need to see." Wes and Wildvine came over to the tent at once and looked inside it. Wildvine uttered a "Whoa" at what he saw.

On various stone slabs and wooden tables were a variety of electrical devices; some were items that were reported stolen, while others looked liked they were made by the werewolf from some of the electronics. The electronic devices included tasers, gloves covered with wires, a few silvery, gun-like devices with what appeared to batteries where the ammo clip would be, and at the back of the tent was a group of 14 laptops and four small televisions MacGyvered together and connected with wires to the portable generator that was reported stolen; a variety of keyboards laid out on the table in front of the screen array. On another couple tables were raw and refined metals and some recently forged metal objects, including a short-sword that still felt a bit warm.

Max looked around with a curious look on his face. "This tent is some kind of mish-mash of a smithy and an electronics workshop. Some of these items looked like they were MacGyvered onto bigger objects or just plain created from scratch. And these metal objects here looked hand-forged. Not quite what I expected the wolf to be doing."

Wes picked up a pair of gauntlets and replied "I agree with you on that. Some of these items appear to be weapons, others tools, and others random objects." To illustrate the point, he put down the gauntlets and picked up small radio with an I-pad MacGyvered onto it so that it formed part of the top.

Wildvine meanwhile had been rifling through some of the objects when he took notice of the computers and TVs. "What do you think this is for?" Max walked to the laptop/TV array and noticed a large button. Pressing it, the collective screens all came to life and began powering up. After a few seconds, each screen showed something on it.

One of televisions showed the CNN news network, while the other three showed documentary channels. The various laptops showed search engines, news websites, the Wikipedia home-page, and four of them had files open that showed what appeared to be notes and mechanical projects in faulty English typing. Max looked at the open computer files and read them before turning to Wes and Wildvine.

"Come look at these files right here." Wes looked at them before his eyes widened a bit. "These are projects he's been working on. His typing skills are a little off, but apparently those gun-things over there are called EMDs." Wildvine looked a bit confused. "What does EMD stand for?" "Electro-Muscular Disruptor. It utilizes a sort of battery that generates an electric bolt of a similar charge to what comes out of a taser. The pistol-sized ones can generate a bolt strong enough to stun a human for several hours, while the rifle-sized one generates a bolt strong enough to stun an elephant for the same amount of time." Wildvine's eye widened a bit.

"So the werewolf has been using random electronic items and equipment to create electrical weapons and a way to research humanity and learn about Earth. If he's working for Doctor Victor, do you think he could be preparing an army to bring with him from wherever he is?" Max answered him with a wary-but-confused look on his face.

"I don't think so Ben. That portal the Dr. Victor and that mummy got sucked into last year was very unstable, with no fixed destination. It could have landed them in an alternate dimension besides the Null Void for all we know." Wes looked at another open file and looked to the others.

"This file looks like a journal of sorts. Whatever he's planning, it should be somewhere in here." Just as Wes was about to start looking through the file, he paused. Max and Wes both looked at him, slightly confused. Max asked first. "Wes, what's wrong?" Wes turned and looked at them with a grim look on his face. "I fear the wolf is near." Before they could ask anything else, he ran out of the tent. Max and Wildvine followed suit.

* * *

When Max and Wildvine had got outside, they saw what had worried Wes. Standing 10 meters away from Wes, with a machete hanging from his hip and a dead deer slung over his shoulders, was the werewolf that had assisted Ghostfreak in his attempt to cover Earth in a Corrodium wave. Max and Wes brought their firearms to bear, while Wildvine readied himself for battle, popping several spines from his hands and forearms and readying his claws.

"Okay furface, I don't know what you're planning, but we're…" Wildvine was interrupted by the beeping of the Omnitrix dial. After a couple seconds, a bright red flash returned Wildvine into regular Ben, who chuckled nervously and ran behind Max and Wes. Max glared at the werewolf and talked to him in a hard voice.

"Whatever plan you're working on, it's not going to work. Now you're going to come with us, **quietly**, and tell us what you're…" Whatever Max was going to say died in his throat as the werewolf raised his hands and said, in lightly accented English "Calm yourself, Maxwell Tennyson." Max's eyes widened at that, as well as Wes's and Ben's eyes, causing them to lower their guard a bit. While they paused, the werewolf dropped the deer on the ground, removed the belt holding the machete, and pulled a crossbow and some bolts of his back before dropping them on the ground.

"I do not wish to cause you anymore trouble then I have already." By then, Max had regained some of his senses. "Who are you, how did you learn my name?" The werewolf looked at them and said "My name is Wind Walker. I learned about you through that internet search engine known as 'Google', learning of your time in the Air Force and the Astronaut Program. I also learned how to speak English through practice and research, as well as how to read, write and type in English, though my writing and typing both need some work."

Ben, who had stopped hiding behind Max after Wind Walker had dropped his weapons, looked very confused. "Okay, if you're not fighting us, then why aren't you working with Ghostfreak?" A look of guilt and regret crossed Wind Walker's face, and he looked towards the ground as he spoke.

"I fear I was not in control of myself at the time." He looked back to them. "You are all aware that _Zs'Skayr, the Ectonurite you call Ghostfreak, was able to partially phase through living beings and supplant his will over theirs._" Ben and Max nodded. "He did the same to me. However, he left a small piece of him inside of me, allowing him to maintain control of me while allowing him to move about in his own body." Ben's eyes as he said "Remote mind-control, really?" Wind Walker nodded.

"Yes; he did the same thing with Cambyses, the Thep Khufan you fought." Wes, who had been silent during the whole ordeal, spoke up. "If that is true, how come you're not under his control?"

The werewolf-Wind Walker-looked over at Wes. "Zs'Skayr, like other Ectonurites, is able to reconstitute his body from a single piece of DNA; that was how he escaped the Omnitrix. He could not do so with me and Cambyses because we were host bodies for the pieces of him that he used to control us. Because there was far more of our DNA then his in our bodies, they were eliminated along with him when he was destroyed."

Ben looked wary, but decided to take a few steps towards Wind Walker. "Why did you let us know you were here, you could have hid until we left and then packed up?" Wind Walker took a few steps closer to Ben until he was a mere 5 feet away. Wind Walker spoke first. "My species, the Loboans, are a society of fierce hunters and noble warriors, who follow a strict code of honor, similar to but slightly less rigid then the Bushido code followed by the Samurai warriors of Feudal Japan. We are taught to forgive, or at least help, those who have expressed regret, and to show loyalty to those of great honor. You have not only saved me and Cambyses from our physical and mental slavery, but you have defeated countless foes, including Zs'Skayr, and saved your world multiple times. Although you are an 11 year old boy, and you have yet to develop full psychological maturity, you are one of the noblest beings I have ever encountered."

At the sudden compliment, Ben looked at Wind Walker with wide eyes and asked "What are you saying?" A pensive look crossed Wind Walker's face for a few seconds before he said "Perhaps this will explain my actions." At that he kneeled down, with his left knee on the ground and his left hand in front of it, while his head was bowed and his right arm was placed on his knee, his right hand clenched in a fist. What he said knocked all three of them flat.

"You are now my new pack leader; I am at your service." Ben was completely shocked by what Wind Walker had said, and Max and Wes had similar expressions on their faces. They had been expecting many things when they found the werewolf, but thus was not one of them.

* * *

Meanwhile, near an abandoned dam in North-Central Idaho, there was what appeared to be a small, abandoned, two-story military outpost that was abandoned in the 70's due to budget cuts. However, the dam itself was still running, and thus providing the individuals within the outpost more then enough power to run their experiments.

One of these individuals was a fairly normal man, tall and lean yet fairly well-built, with brown eyes covered with red-tinted goggles, pale-green skin, and unkempt, shoulder-length white hair, wearing long brown slacks, black tank top, a white lab-coat over both, and a pair of black boots. The abnormal skin and hair color were both due to lots of work and little time spent outside.

The other individual was vastly different. His body was quite strongly built, his skin a pale green, even paler on his lower arms; three metal bolts were stuck in his chest in a triangular pattern and one extra on each side of his neck, right above his shoulders. His short hair a deep black, one of his eyes was small and white while the other was large and fuchsia pink with a small, black pupil. He's wearing nothing but dark-gold gloves on his hands with a pair of grey bolts on the outside and fuchsia lights on the inside, dark-brown pants, a dark gold belt and belt buckle, and a pair of large black boots. On his back is a pair of large metal pylons that were literally fused with his flesh. The bolts on his neck were also fused with his flesh, and many more biotechnological enhancements were within his body. This being was also smarter and faster then one might think.

Both were scientists conducting experiments; both had rivalries with an 11-year-old boy named Ben Tennyson. The more normal-looking of the two looked up from his nanoscope and called to his partner.

"Doctor Victor, I believe that our most recent enhancements to the nanotechnology should be sufficient to control our 'guest'." The Transylian being known as Dr. Victor walked over to his partner's nanoscope and looked into it for a few seconds before nodding and giving a small smirk.

"Excellent work Dr. Animo. Cambyses may not be under my old master's control, but once we have incorporated the nanotechnology into the biotech harness I have designed, he will be under **our **control." The mad scientist known as Dr. Animo nodded with a smirk on his face as well. "Perhaps we should go check on our subject."

With that, they walked to the nearby elevator, which was recently repaired, and took it down to the second sub-level. In a makeshift cell on that floor lied the test-subject Animo referred to. That subject is _a _mummy-like being composed _entirely_ of tan-brown bandages. He has a thin, humanoid body shape with slightly ape-like features on his limbs, a shell-like head resembles a headpiece from an ancient pharaoh, minus the nose and mouth, and 2 bandages dangling from his upper back, wearing nothing but a piece of skirt-like clothing on his waist. His body is hollow, and in the bandages on his wrists, chest and ankles are gaps that are glowing with a bright fuchsia color, same as his eyes. That being was a Thep Khufan alien named Cambyses.

At the arrival of Animo and Victor, he looked up and lightly glared at the two of them. Animo and Victor just smirked at him. Animo spoke first. "Cambyses; you'll be pleased to know that you play a large part of our new plan, albeit under our control."

Cambyses' glare deepened greatly at that. Victor spoke next. "It will not matter how much you resist. The bio-harness I've designed is keyed specifically to your genetic code and brainwave activity, ensuring you will not break our control." Animo picked up where Victor left off.

"Once the fusion between yourself and the bio-harness is complete, Victor and I can proceed with our ultimate goal." Cambyses' eyes widened at what Victor said when Animo finished. "To eliminate the one who humiliated us and destroyed my master; Benjamin Tennyson."

* * *

This second chapter, ladies and gentlemen, is a lot longer then I originally planned. Still, I think I did good work with this one of I do say so myself. Again, if you have any complaints or advice you would like to share, please do so; also, only flame if you absolutely have to. If you're all wandering about why there was no action, such as a fight between the werewolf (who will be referred to as Wind Walker from here on out), I had a bit of background to explain before I could do any major fights. On the plus side, Gwen finally accepted Kai's apology, at least to an extent, and I gave a sneak preview of Dr. Animo and Dr. Victor are doing with Cambyses (the mummy if anybody needs a reminder). If you want more action, let me know and I'll put as much as I can in the next chapter. Next chapter, Ben, Wes and Max try to work out what Wind Walker just said while Wind Walker explains three things: why he's been stealing all the stuff, why he believes Ben should be his 'pack leader', and the history of his kind, as well as the Thep Khufans and the Transylians. Max and Wes will then have to figure out how to tell Gwen and Kai without freaking them out. Also, we see the conclusion of Animo's and Victor's experiments on Cambyses, and possibly Ben and the others fighting the two of them and the controlled-Cambyses. Until then, this is The Prime Writer, signing off. Enjoy the story and please review.


	3. Explanations

Hello everyone, this is the Prime Writer with another chapter to add to my Ancient Aliens story. This is the chapter where Wind Walker (the werewolf in case anyone's forgotten) explains his origins and how he came to Earth. He also explains the history of his species as well as those of Victor and the mummy. I have decided that either Max or Wes is going to bring Gwen and Kai to the campsite so things can be explained to them at the same time. After things are explained and they get over the surprise of Wind Walker referring to Ben as his 'pack leader', they find out about Wind Walker's past and those of Victor and Cambyses, as well as the stories of their seperate races. This chapter is where the Ancient Alien info really comes into play, and where Ben, Gwen, Max and others get started on a new adventure even more exciting then that of last summer. And now, we begin.

* * *

Chapter 3: Explanations

* * *

Ben remained stock-still, mouth open and eyes wide, at what the werewolf, Wind Walker, had just called him. Pack Leader. The werewolf was essentially calling Ben his master. Max and Wes, standing a few feet behind Ben and still holding their weapons, had similar expressions on their faces. Wes recovered his voice first.

"Your pack leader? You're saying that Ben is your new leader." Wind Walker raised his head and looked at Wes. "Yes, I am. I must apologize to you and to those who I have stolen from. I needed food and supplies to survive, and raw materials to craft with. Whenever I could, I gathered or hunted what I could from the land around me, and occasionally from that junkyard, but when there was something I needed that nature couldn't give me, I had to obtain it through other means." Wes nodded at that, more to himself then to the others. Max's eyes narrowed slightly as he asked the next question.

"If you're just trying to survive out here, then why have you been building all those weapons we saw, including the EMDs." Wind Walker looked a bit sheepish as he began explaining. "My kind has a natural penchant and aptitude for experimenting and creating now objects, and we are compulsive mechanics and tinkerers. One we get an idea of some sort in our heads, we cannot stop thinking about it until we completely finish it."

His eyes drooped slightly in shame at the next part. "As for the stealing of the electronics, I needed parts and batteries for the various electronic devices I had thought of, and I needed the solar panels to provide power for the generator, which in turn powers the electrical devices I have created. The array of screens you saw was linked to those websites and television channels so that I may learn about this world." A small smile appeared on his face at what he said next. "Many of those television channels are also quite entertaining."

Ben spoke up once he had finished. "You know, you can stop kneeling at any time." Wind Walker looked a tad embarrassed at that. "Ah, yes. I apologize for being too formal master." Ben still looked a bit apprehensive, but he answered with a slightly uncomfortable voice. "It's okay, but please don't call me master." Wind Walker looked confused, and a bit concerned.

"Why would you wish that? It is an ancient tradition on my homeworld. Do you not believe my story?" "I believe your story, and I get that its tradition, but that was a pretty big bomb you dropped on us. It's going to take me a little bit to get it around my head that you see me as a master." Wind Walker's eyes widened a bit in understanding.

"Ah yes, I did not think this through all the way. I am still familiarizing myself with this world." Wes, who had been silent up to that point, finally spoke. "I think I can believe that you were being controlled against your will, but you can't expect me to believe that you'll do what Ben tells you to." Wind Walker sighed and responded with a weary tone.

"True enough; I believe a more thorough explanation is in order, one about the histories of my kind, the Loboans, as well as the races of Cambyses and Victor, the Thep Khufans and the Transylians." Ben turned to Max and Wes and asked "What about Gwen and Kai; shouldn't they hear about this too?" Max's eyes widened slightly, as did Wes's. Wes spoke first.

"It is true, Gwen and Kai both need to know exactly what is going on. Max will take the jeep and bring them here; you may tell your story then." Wind Walker nodded briefly. Max and Wes slowly lowered their weapons, calming a bit when Wind Walker didn't make any move to attack. "Ben, will you be okay here; I'm still a bit unsure about our 'new friend'." Ben responded with some of his usual confidence. "No problem grandpa."

Max nodded and holstered his plasma-pistol before heading back to the jeep. Wind Walker looked to Ben with a somewhat confused expression. "I remember the one called Gwen, your cousin whom you argue with a lot, but what of Kai?" Wes answered his question.

"She is my granddaughter. She accompanied me, Ben, Gwen, and Max the first time we met." His eyes narrowed a bit at what he said next. "While she is here, you will make no move to harm her. Is that clear?" Wind Walker nodded and said "Of course." The three of them stood in semi-awkward silence for a few minutes before Ben spoke up.

"Can you let us look at some of the stuff you built in that big tent?" Wind Walker looked to Ben and said "Of course master." "No offense to your culture, but please don't call me master; I'm still getting used to the fact that you haven't attacked us." Wind Walker gave a small nod and headed towards the tent that held his machines, with Ben and Wes following close behind.

Suddenly wind Walker stopped. "Bah, almost forgot; let me put my prey away before I follow you." At that, Wind Walker headed back towards the dead deer before lifting it over his shoulders and carrying it towards a tent that they had yet to look into.

Wind Walker placed the deer in the tent before heading back to them. Ben asked "What's that tent for?" Wind Walker looked at him and answered his question bluntly. "That is where I skin my prey and prepare the meat for storage."

Ben felt a bit queasy at the thought of the blood and guts he might find in that tent and quickly changed the subject. "Okay then, I'm going to go look around the invention tent." Ben then lifted the flap and went in, followed shortly by Wes and Wind Walker.

* * *

As Max drove back to the village, he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander to what the werewolf…what Wind Walker had told them. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the triple-whammy of Wind Walker not attacking, speaking in perfect English, and kneeling to Ben while calling him his master; Max considered himself a trusting man, but he still had plenty of doubts as to whether Wind Walker was sincere.

Soon enough, he arrived at the village, finding Kai sitting in a chair in front of the Rustbucket. She perked up as soon as she saw him. "Mr. Tennyson. What are you doing? Are Ben and my Grandpa okay?" Max looked at her and answered with careful certainty.

"Don't worry Kai, their both okay." His face took on a worried look at what he said next. "I just came to get you and Gwen." Kai pointed to the Rustbucket with her thumb. "She's in the Rustbucket." A small smile appeared on Kai's face at what she said next. "And you'll be happy to know that I've managed to get her to agree to a truce; a very uneasy one, but still."

Max smiled. "I told Gwen you would apologize if given the chance." At that, he headed into the Rustbucket. Gwen was going over her spellbook when she heard the door open. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw her grandpa.

"Grandpa, what's going on? Did you find the werewolf?" "We did find him Gwen, but it turns out that things are a lot more complicated then we originally thought." Gwen looked worried. "What do you mean?" "Yeah, what do you mean?" Gwen reflexively frowned as she heard Kai ask that from the Rustbucket door.

Max looked at them both and said "The two of you need to see, and hear, what we found for you to believe it; I'll explain what I can on the way." Neither of them argued, and they both headed to the jeep, Gwen getting the front seat next to Max while Kai sat in the back. Once they were buckled in, Max started the jeep and drove off in the direction of the campsite.

As he drove, he explained what had happened as clearly as possible to the girls, their eyes growing wide as he told them of the werewolf, Wind Walker, kneeling before Ben and calling him master. Gwen was especially surprised about the 'master' part.

"Seriously! The werewolf actually kneeled to Ben and called him his master. Ben's 11, why would he call him master?" Max looked at her and replied in a serious/confused tone.

"Well according to Wind Walker, Ghostfreak left a tiny part of him inside of him, letting Ghostfreak control without actually possessing him; When Ghostfreak was defeated, the bit of him in Wind Walker got eliminated, freeing him from control."

Kai asked the next question. "What do you think Wind Walker's going to tell us?" Max looked away and answered with hints of curiosity and caution in his voice. "I'm not sure; but let's find out." With that, they drove on, thinking about what they were going to be told by their new potential ally.

* * *

Meanwhile, Wind Walker was showing Wes and Ben the various machines and electronic devices he had created, including tasers, two early models of EMDs, electromagnetic gauntlets, a grappling-gun that can deliver an electric shock through the cable once it got a hold of something, and a large hammer capable of generating an electromagnetic shockwave when slammed against the ground. Other creations included a custom motorcycle that looked similar to a Kawasaki Ninja, two sport-type cars that were close to being completed, a variety of steel and iron weapons, and a pair of goggles that allowed for night-vision, thermal-vision, and ultraviolet-vision.

"Okay Wind Walker, if nothing else, you are really good at making electronics." Wind Walker beamed at that compliment before replying with "Thank you ma…Benjamin." Even Wes looked impressed with what Wind Walker had made. Before anyone could say anything else, Wind Walker's ears pricked up and he turned toward the path that lead to his camp before he turned back to Ben.

"Maxwell is returning. And he has brought a couple of females about your age with him." Ben and Wes left the tent in time to see Max, Gwen, and Kai on top of the ridge. "Hey Gwen, come meet Wind Walker." Gwen was quick to reach the bottom of the ridge, meeting Ben as he caught up to her. Gwen and Kai both stopped when they saw Wind Walker approach them. Seeing their apprehension, Ben spoke up.

"It's okay you two. Wind Walker wasn't in control of himself when we last met him." Gwen still looked dubious. "Forgive me if I'm still cautious." Wind Walker spoke next. "I understand why you do not trust me, but request that you at least give me a chance." Gwen's and Kai's eyes both widened slightly as he spoke. Kai spoke first.

"You speak English." Wind Walker responded to that with a bit of pride in his voice. "Correct. I can also converse fluently in French, Portuguese, Latin, Navajo, Zuni, Tohono O'odham, and both Mescalero and Chiricahua Apache, and I also know smatterings of Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese." Ben, Gwen, Max, and Kai all stared at him for a couple seconds before Ben spoke up.

"How did you learn all those languages?" Wind Walker replied with pride noticeable in his voice. "I looked up the English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French lexicons online, and have started looking at those for Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese. As for the other five, the explanation for those lies with the explanation I'm about to give you."

They all looked confused at that before Max broke the silence. "So Wind Walker, where should we listen to your story?" Wind Walker looked to the fire-pit. "I believe we should do so in the open air." With that, he walked towards the pile of wood and charcoal, gathered some of both, and took them to the fire-pit, before he spread some oil across them and lit a match. The wood and charcoal quickly lit on fire. Wind Walker walked so that he was facing the path used to get in, and thus facing the group, before sitting cross-legged on the ground, with the fire to his back. He closed hi eyes for a moment before looking at them solemnly.

"I believe now is the time to give you that explanation. Please sit." They all sat cross-legged in front of him, with Ben in the middle with Gwen and Max to his right and Wes and Kai were to his left, waiting for him to begin his explanations.

"Before I begin, I must apologize to Gwen and Kai for my attacks on them. I assume that Maxwell told them of how Zs'Skayr controlled, and I hope it was an adequate explanation." Gwen and Kai both nodded slightly before Wind Walker continued. "As all of you likely know, because Zs'Skayr was defeated twice now by Ben's efforts, along with much assistance from Gwen and Maxwell, I have submitted to being his subject, with him as my pack leader; as a result, I know see you as my allies."

Gwen spoke up. "No offense, but I don't really think calling Ben you're leader is a wise idea. You said yourself that Ben doesn't have 'full psychological maturity'." Wind Walker looked at her and responded in a sure voice. "That may be true, but we have both seen that he has matured greatly since getting the Omnitrix." Gwen nodded and grudgingly admitted "True."

Wind Walker looked at Max and spoke in a curious voice. "Tell us Maxwell, what do the Plumbers, and the other aliens races, know of the Anur System?" Max's and Wes's eyes both widened at the mention of the Anur System. "That's your home system?" Wind Walker nodded, but Ben, Gwen and Kai all looked confused. Kai asked first.

"What's the Anur system?" Max was the one who answered her. "The Anur System is one of the most dangerous planetary systems in the known galaxy, and according to some, one of the most haunted." Gwen looked a tad skeptical. "For some reason I doubt the 'haunted' part." Max continued without pause.

"Expeditions into the Anur System have been few and far between, and fewer and further between still are those that come back in one piece. Of the survivors, a third of those individuals are committed to mental institutions immediately following such expeditions, and another half of them never speak of what happened to them in that system; also, all survivors not admitted to insane asylums suffer from moderate-to-severe cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at least. Those trends, combined with mysterious gravity-wells, the prevalence of Corrodium, and accounts of the various denizens from the Anur System, have given rise to the legends that the Anur System is 'cursed'."

Wes picked up from where Max left off. "The few artifacts that were recovered, along with the small number of survivors willing to talk about their experiences, means we know precious little about that system and its inhabitants. How Azmuth was able get a sample of an Ectonurite, much less an apparent High Ecto Lord, is beyond me." Kai asked the next question.

"A High Ecto Lord; what's that?" Wes looked at her and answered in a semi-certain voice. "Based on the few accounts that we've gained, we have more or less determined that the dominant planet in the system, Anur Phaetos, is ruled by a sort of pseudo-monarchy, with said lord being said to have powers much greater then the average Ectonurite. If that Ghostfreak wasn't a High Ecto Lord, I'll eat a plasma grenade. We know very little about Ectonurites as a whole. Some say they exist as a collective, a 'hive mind' if you will. All that most members of the galactic community is that they would not like to encounter an Ectonurite in a dark alley…or anywhere for that matter."

Wind Walker looked at Wes before nodding grimly. "What information you have is true; the High Ecto Lord is a very powerful individual, and Ectonurite society does appear to have a hive-like mindset, though I can't say so with certainty." Wind Walker then looked at them all.

"As a part of my story, I will also tell you the story of my kind, the Loboans, and the stories of the Transylians and the Thep Khufans, and that of the Ectonurites to an extant. Allow me to explain the story of our kinds first before I get into my personal story, if that is okay with you." No one made any objections. Wind Walker began with the story of his species. "

* * *

My kind arose from the forested moon of Anur Transyl, Luna Lobo. As I've told Ben, Maxwell and Wes earlier, the Loboans are a society of fierce hunters and noble warriors, who follow a code of honor not too dissimilar to the code that was followed by the Samurai of Feudal Japan. We practice a polytheistic/animistic religion, in which the spirits of those who became before us are said to inhabit the elements or any creatures considered sacred by a tribe's patron god or gods. Although we are an intelligent race, a small but significant part of our thought and reasoning is driven by instinct, and we must practice control in order to avoid making mistakes and hurting others.

My kind and our homeworld were the first victims of Anur Phaetos' expansion. With the arrival of the Ectonurites, the various Loboan tribes and confederacies united to combat this threat. We fought tooth and claw against our ghostly invaders, preferring to go down fighting rather then submit to slavery. However, the Ectonurite's phase-shifting ability, which allowed them to posses other individuals, combined with the dishonor associated with killing and hurting members of our own tribe or clan, resulted in many Loboans attempting to take possessed those who were possessed prisoner, allowing the Ectonurites to invade and subvert every part of Luna Lobo within a few years. By the time the Ectonurites had fully conquered Luna Lobo, the Loboan race had only a shadow of its former numbers, making the Ectonurite occupation all but academic.

Enslaved as the new military enforcer of the Ectonurite Empire, my kind was reduced to mere fighting-dogs on a leash, our culture and history purged from existence by our hated masters. The forests of Luna Lobo were cut down with impunity, sacred texts, relics and religious sites were destroyed out of pure spite, great shamans and healers killed without a second thought to avoid inciting rebellions, written knowledge of our people's history and mythology burned for no apparent reason.

Fortunately, some Loboan rebels managed to escape the Ectonurite conquest with important artifacts, documents, and pieces of technology through stray wormholes that led them to Earth; my kind's home system, the Anur System, is very prone to the formation of natural wormholes, many of which lead to Earth. We were not very selective about where we landed, which lea to a number of small Loboan settlements all across the globe.

As you may have guessed, members of my kind were the inspirations for legends of werewolves and other half-wolf creatures across the world, including the skinwalkers of Native American mythology. In some places, the Loboans were welcomed with open arms, while they were hunted and persecuted almost to extinction in some places.

Some Loboans settled in Egypt with our allies, the Thep Khufans, and became security guards and military enforcers. Our association with the Thep Khufans meant that we would become the inspiration for whom you call Anubis, the Egyptian god of mummification, protector of the dead, and guardian of the tombs.

Among the peoples of North America, we were more or less welcomed into a number of tribes, though a fair number of tribes tried to destroy my kind. We became especially prominent in the American Southwest, and we are partly responsible for building the pueblos that are associated with the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam peoples, as well as the other pueblo nations.

When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in North America and Mesoamerica in the 1500s, my kind, our Thep Khufan allies, and all humans who were sympathetic with our plight were imprisoned and forced into hard labor, or else killed outright. The existence of the aliens was kept secret from most of Europe, with the governments of all colonizing and exploring nations either killing or imprisoning any aliens they found.

In the late 8th century A**.**D**. **by the Gregorian Calendar, one power-hungry Loboan and some of his followers successfully united the Scandinavian tribes under his iron fist, jump-starting the Viking raids that plagued Europe. His raids terrorized the peoples of England and the French, German, and Flemish coasts for several decades before his subjects rebelled, capturing and cryogenically sealing him away in an unknown location. That Loboan and the ferocity with which he defeated his enemies became the inspiration for the monstrous wolf of the Norse Sagas known as Fenrir.

In many ancient records and oral stories, there are often a number of descriptions of my kind's terrifying sonic howl in the dead of night, while the locals trembled in fear…never knowing the far more terrible truth: the howls they heard were not threats of demons and beasts, but the mournful lamentations of former slaves, crying out for their dead and possessed brothers across the stars."

* * *

By the end of the tale, Wind Walker's voice had grown soft, his eyelids and ears drooping, a tear leaking out of each eye. Ben, Max, and Wes weren't much better, with expressions of saddened horror on their faces. Gwen and Kai were sniffling, their eyes closed and wet, barely holding back tears of sadness and anguish. No one spoke for several minutes until Kai broke the silence.

"That's one of the saddest stories I've ever heard." When Wind Walker spoke a few seconds later, it was with great sadness and regret. "I am truly sorry, to all of you. I tried my best to resist, to fight back against Zs'Skayr's control, but his powers were too great. I became the slave he intended me to be; it was only by the luck of the draw and the grace of the spirits that I was set free."

His expression saddened further at what he said next. "I am…not sure if I will ever forgive myself." Ben spoke next, with determination in his voice.

"Dude, you should forgive yourself; you were under Ghostfreak's control, and he was too strong for you to overcome. He made you do all those things against your will, meaning you have no responsibility for those actions. I've already forgiven you, now you just need to forgive yourself."

Everyone looked at Ben intently, not expecting him to have such wisdom. Wind Walker stared at Ben for a few seconds before speaking in a relieved voice. "Thank you, for forgiving me." Ben smiled slightly and responded with "No problem."

Gwen looked Ben with confusion. "Ben, what happened that made you so philosophical?" Ben just shrugged and said "It just seemed like it was the right thing to say." Gwen gave a small smile before replying in a pleases voice. "Sometimes you surprise me Ben."

Ben nodded in acknowledgment before turning back to Wind Walker. "So, can you tell us about Victor and his species?"

Wind Walker nodded and replied "Yes, but before I do, let me say this: Victor's kind, the Transylians are partly immune to the Ectonurite phase-controlling powers due their level of artificial augmentation. Their bodies can be controlled, but not their minds." Gwen looked confused.

"Then Victor served Ghostfreak out of fear." Wind Walker shook his head and replied with noted distaste. "More like fanaticism mixed with a touch of fear. But fanatics like him are an exception more then a rule." Ben asked "what do you mean?" "Allow me to tell the story of the Transylian race".

* * *

"The work-horse of the Ectonurite-dominated Anur System, the denizens of Anur Transyl have been selectively bred and modified by years of Ectonurite control and bio-engineering, resulting in a race of beings far removed from whatever life-form arose on Anur Transyl naturally. 

he original Transylians added mechanical and cybernetic implants into their species well before the Ectonurite expansion. This was to help them combat the Vladats, a race of vampire-like aliens who had escaped their home planet, which was in the Anur System, and attempted to conquer Anur Transyl by wiping out the Transylian species.

In response, the Transylians developed increasingly advanced technology, using both what they created and what they stole from the Vladats. After a while, the Transylians used some of their technology to turn themselves into cybernetic beings, giving them the edge they needed to no only defeat the Vladats, but to wipe them out.

Generations later, with the Ectonurite expansion, the Transylians became even more cybernetic, with large portions of their biology replaced by bio-technology that they were more-or-less forced to use.With all traces of the original Transylian race all but eliminated, only the new Transylian race remains.

Uniquely suited to operate the machinery of the Ectonurite Empire, the Transylians, like the Khufans and the Loboans, tried their best at rebellion, but they were eventually defeated. Also like the other races, some managed to escape through wormholes to Earth, but in far fewer numbers, resulting in them having much less of an impact then the Loboans and Thep Khufans.

The main evidence for their contact of ancient humans are supposed depictions and architectural evidence of advanced technology seen in some localities. These theories, such as nuclear weapons in Ancient India and electricity being used in Ancient Egypt and Sumeria, are fringe theories among your societies that are not accepted by the mainstream scientific communities.

In the 1800's, there was a Transylian individual who befriended Mary Shelley in secret, and his tales to her of his home planet and the suffering his species discovered likely inspired the tale of Shelley's famous novel, "Frankenstein."

Partially immune to the phase-possession powers of their Ectonurite masters due to the high levels of artificial enhancement recently described, the Transylians stoically lumber on, perhaps having long since abandoned all hope…or perhaps merely biding their time, waiting for the perfect chance to rebel."

* * *

Ben was the first to break the silence that followed. "So, Victor for some reason likes Ghostfreak." Wind Walker answered that query with a bitter tone.

"There is currently a propaganda campaign the Ectonurites are implementing on Transylia to convince the Transylian populace that the Ectonurites are good for them and the planet as a whole; that campaign has been moderately successful. Victor however was…more convinced then some other members of his species." Gwen responded to that with a deadpan look. "Yeah, no kidding."

Max asked the next question. "Hey, that mummy we fought in South Carolina and Florida, what was his name again?" Wind Wlker looked at him with alittle bit of hope. "His name was Cambyses, and he was a member of the Thep Khufans. His species were the most notable and the most numerous in their colonization of Earth."

Gwen's eyes widened and she looked Wind Walker right in the eyes. "What do you mean?" Wind Walker proceeded to tell them of the Thep Khufans.

* * *

"The Thep Khufan species is arguably one of the oddest races of sentient beings in the known cosmos. At first appearing to be little more than animated bandages, a closer look reveals the complexity of Khufan physiology. Their epidermis is highly vascular and encompasses neural tissue, eliminating any need for internal organs, and since they cannot gain nutrition by conventional means, their metabolism absorbs ambient energy from nearby life-forms. They were trading partners and close allies of the Loboans.

However, how that species and its society arose is, for the most part, tragically lost: with the recent period of Ectonurite domination of the Anur System, all traces of Thep Khufan civilization have been destroyed, with nearly every Khufan enslaved, their very wills subverted by their ghostly overlords.

The few relics that survived the Ectonurite purge all illustrate a series of nations and societies that were largely reminiscent of several of Earth's ancient cultures, including Ancient Egypt and Nubia, the Nazca, Paracas, Moche, and Norte Chico of Peru, the Khmer of Southeast Asia, and the Olmec, Zapotec, Toltec. Mayan, Aztec, and Tarascan Empires of Mesoamerica.

There were some Thep Khufan refugees who managed to escape through one or more wormholes in their system, arriving with Loboan and Transylian refugees on planet Earth roughly around 4000 B.C., soon after humanity first started building large cities. The Thep Khufans were somewhat selective of where they landed; fairly large numbers of Thep Khufans settled in the locations you would call Egypt, Nubia, Mesoamerica, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, the Near East, the Mesopotamia Region, the Mississippi River Valley, and in much smaller numbers in Italy, Malta, Southeast Asia, Southern India, and parts of China.

In each area they and the other aliens arrived in, the local arts, architecture, culture, technology, mythology, burial practices, and sometimes languages were influenced to varying degrees. In each region the Thep Khufans landed in, that region developed pyramid or pyramid-like structures as buildings soon afterwards. Oftentimes, the people would also adapt mummification practices, perhaps inspired by the Thep Khufans ability to 'rise from the dead' by regenerating. This was especially true in Egypt, where the greatest numbers of Loboans and Thep Khufans settled.

One of the greatest figures of Ancient Egypt, the architect Imhotep, was in fact a Thep Khufan. His medical skills and knowledge of human, Loboan, Thep Khufan, and Transylian ailments back then was second to none, and his architectural skills, which allowed him to build the first pyramid, led to him being immortalized as the god of construction and crafts.

In India, despite the comparatively small numbers of Thep Khufans, they influenced the mythology of the Hindu religion greatly. The variety of weapons featured in the Hindu Vedas and the Hindu epic, _The Mahabharata_, seem remarkably similar to some modern-day human weaponry, such as heat-seeking missiles, thermonuclear bombs, sonic weapons, particle-beam cannons, etc. This is because those weapons were actually what people who never saw alien weapons technology described them and their usage as what they thought they were. Another influence brought by our kinds were so called "flying chariots" sometimes seen in Hindu mythology, known as Vimanas, which are based partially on the descriptions of Thep Khufan spaceships seen by the local humans.

At first, the Thep Khufans, as well as any Loboans and Transylians who arrived in those regions with them, were treated as gods by the local people. Eventually, the people realized that the alien beings were just as mortal as they were, and our peoples became citizens of the regions they lived in, with all the rights and opportunities of the local humans.

The advanced technology our kinds brought a great many changes to wherever our kinds settled, leading to increased technical and medicinal knowledge, the construction of massive buildings, and a rapid increase in population. It had seemed that we had found a new home, one that was free of persecution, at least mostly.

However, at each location where Thep Khufans, Loboans, and Transylians lived, they were eventually forced out of their homes by new rulers and conquerors in the regions they lived in, such as the Roman Empire, the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the Yuan Dynasty, and the Spanish Conquistadors, or else they would be executed or forced into slavery and hard-labor.

The xenophobic prejudice and hatred of the conquerors stemmed from their jealously over the natural, cultural, political, and technological powers that the aliens held, especially the advanced technology.

In order to escape the power-hungry, xenophobic bigots that lead these empires, all aliens, Thep Khufans among them, and some sympathetic humans destroyed their technology and all obvious traces and records that they ever existed before they escaped to remote areas hidden from most humans. Perhaps some of them still live on Earth today, in remote, hard-to-reach places, hiding from the humans they have come to distrust."

* * *

No one spoke for a full 10 minutes after that. Even the noise of the bugs and the wind seemed to stop, with only the sound of the fire crackling breaking the silence. In the space of just a few minutes, everything they thought they knew about the history of the Earth was made wrong. Aliens had live among their ancestors, and may still exist today. In short, all their minds were completely and utterly **blown**.

Gwen was the first to break the silence. "Whoa. Everything we thought we knew about human history was just turned **completely** upside down." Max spoke next, equally dumbstruck. "Just when you think life can't get any weirder, it gets **lots** weirder."

Ben, Gwen, and Kai looked at Max with confusion, with Ben asked first. "You mean, you didn't know about any of that?" Max shook his head and said "None of it. Like me and Wes said, we know very little about the Anur System and its inhabitants. The Plumbers knew that a few aliens visited Ancient Earth, and suspected that some of those few were worshipped as gods, but we never knew that such large numbers lived among us for such a long period of time."

Kai then spoke in a confused voice. "So you guys never found any advanced technology, or any other evidence of ancient aliens." Wes answered with "We have very little evidence of past alien contact with earth, mostly bits and pieces of documents, figurines, and the occasional piece of broken technology; beyond that however, nothing much." Wind Walker spoke up when Wes had finished.

"As I said during my tales, most obvious evidence of extraterrestrial interference was destroyed long ago. The conquering empires destroyed most artifacts relating to my kind and the others, while we destroyed as much advanced technology as we could to prevent its ill usage. But not all of it was destroyed."

Gwen's eyes widened slightly before she asked "What do you mean? Could any survivors have salvaged some technology and artifacts and taken them with them?" Wind Walker looked at her and answered in a serious and slightly hopeful voice.

"It is possible, but that's not just what I was referring to. There were those who wanted to preserve their heritage and technology. Those who were able to hide their important artifacts and advanced technology in hidden tombs or sanctuaries, or in remote locations far from the human eye, and there were those who disguised some of their artifacts or technology as human artifacts. Caches and stores of them are scattered potentially across the world."

Everyone's eyes went wide when he finished. Ben spoke first. "Dude, are you saying that alien technology is hidden around the world, or maybe even stored in museums?" Wind Walker nodded and replied "Yes. It is only a matter of time before humanity finds out about the technology, and of the aliens that inhabited Earth in the past. If any Loboans, Thep Khufans, or Transylians still live on Earth, they may not remain a secret for very long."

For the third time that night, everyone was stunned into silence. The thought of alien technology disguised as museum artifacts, and of aliens living on Earth since ancient times, was **abso-freaking-lutely mind-blowing**.

* * *

While Wind Walker was telling his stories, Animo and Victor were working on fully integrating the nanotechnology into the bio-harness they designed for Cambyses. Currently, Animo was making a few final adjustments to the harness before they began inserting the nanotechnology. The harness in question was a bronze-gold in color, sufficient in size to cover the front of Cambyses's chest, with two pairs of clamps on the back, one on the top and the other on the bottom. In the center of the harness is a stabilizing container that will house the nanotech that will both power the device and control Cambyses.

Animo finished welding several wires to an outlet before asking Victor "What's the progress in stabilizing the nano-reactions?" Never looking up from his work, Victor replied in his usual calm tone.

"Slow, but progressing. The nano-reactions required to power the harness have proven to be more unstable then our original calculations led us to believe. However, the necessary corrections should be completed within a few hours."

Animo nodded and said "Good. I believe now is the time for me to attract young Tennyson's attention to this area, so that we may lure him in like a moth is lured by light." Victor briefly looked up from his work.

"Remember Aloysius, do not say or do anything that will make Tennyson suspicious; if our plan is to work, the element of surprise is essential." Animo nodded and replied "I'm fully aware of what not to say to Tennyson. The real question is the target; it will need to be something not too big or important, but enough to draw Tennyson here without arousing too much suspicion."

Victor looked at him with a slight smirk and said "There is a genetics lab in the city known as Boise that has recently acquired genetic samples of several endangered species. I believe that should suffice?" Animo smirked back. "Indeed it should."

Meanwhile, down in the makeshift cell on the second sub-level of the building, Cambyses was trying to think of a way to escape…and failing. Animo and Victor had personally made sure that Cambyses's cell was escape-proof to Thep Khufans, at least as much as they could make it. No matter how many times he tried, he could not find a flaw in his cell that would allow him to escape; even if he did escape, he doubted if he could escape Animo and Victor without killing himself. The worst part about his situation was that they were planning to control his actions like Zs'Skayr did so that they could get revenge on their enemy and his liberator, Ben Tennyson.

He doubted that the boy knew he was alive, but he still owed a debt of gratitude to him that he feels he should repay. In all honesty, the Tennyson family has become the only humans he fully trusts since the day the Roman Empire invaded Egypt, burned the library of Alexandria, and claimed Aegyptus as a province, killing many Thep Khufans and other aliens and forcing the survivors to go into hiding.

Since that day, when he was at the comparative age of a human child a couple years then Ben Tennyson is now, he has been running and hiding wherever and whenever he can, whether from Roman Soldiers, Christian Crusaders, or mobs of terrified citizens.

He has developed a more-or-less instinctive distrust of humans, even regarding those few who know of and accept his kind's presence on Earth. He was still ruminating over his life when the door opened and he saw Dr. Animo walk out of the elevator.

As soon as he was in front of Cambyses cell, Animo spoke. "Cambyses; just so you know, the harness we designed especially for you is nearly complete. You should be under our control in just a few hours."

Cambyses's temper soared at the mention of being controlled; he had enough of that with Zs'Skayr. He quickly rose up to his full height and began staring down Animo, who didn't flinch of change his expression. Instead, he just continued speaking.

"You don't like the idea of being controlled do you. I suppose I can understand." With that, he walked away while saying "Victor and I will break you, especially after Ben Tennyson is defeated." Once he had left, Cambyses just sat back down and went back to thinking.

Their was no way he could find out of his cell, and even if he did manage, Victor and Animo had likely placed additional security measures to prevent his escape of the facility. Cambyses could only hope that, if Ben Tennyson did manage to free him, then he would have a chance of apologizing to the boy; for now though, he was just going to have to bide his time, hoping that he would be freed from control yet again.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Wind Walker's camp, silence still reigned. Wind Walker had not spoken a word since he had told the stories of his people, the Loboans, and the stories of the Thep Khufans and Transylians. He decided to let all of that information sink in before he continued. Gwen was the first to break the silence.

"So you're saying that aliens lived on Earth during ancient times, and may still be living today, and that some ancient alien technology and artifacts may still be hidden across the world, or even stored in museums." Wind Walker nodded and answered in a slightly depressed voice.

"Yes. It is a lot to take in, especially all at once, but that is the truth." Max looked at him and asked in a serious voice. "Do you know of any caches nearby, or of any advanced technology on display in museums?" Wind Walker shook his head before he replied.

"Unfortunately no; I was born and raised on Luna Lobo, my homeworld, and only learned about my kind's history on this planet recently. I was born soon after the end of the Loboan rebellion to a pair of the few remaining unpossessed Loboans on Luna Lobo. They were killed when I was still young, and I was sent to one of the reeducation facilities where young members of my kind are supposed to learn about the supposed 'greatness' of the Ectonurites; those facilities were similar in function to the schools used to reeducate Native American children in this nation's history. When I came of age, I was handpicked by Zs'Skayr to be his personal enforcer, and I was possesed when he chose me. I served under his posession for several years, and I was responsible for finding Cambyses and causing him to be possesed by Zs'Skayr."

Gwen looked at him with a curious expression. "What about that mummy; did he come from the Anur System?" Cambyses shook his head and looked at them.

"No my friends; Cambyses was born here, on Earth, many years ago. The Thep Khufans are incredibly long-loved by many standards; Cambyses's current age of 2,273 years old is to him what a human would be like in his late 30's. His grandparents were among the first Thep Khufan refugees to arrive on Earth after escaping from the Ectonurites; somewhere within Egypt I believe. He was born in the city of Alexandria during what humans call the Ptolemaic Period of Egypt, specifically during the year 260 BC by the Gregorian Calender. Cambyses was at the equivelant age of an 11-year-old human child when the Roman Army stormed the city, burned the Library of Alexandria, conquered the land and re-named Aegyptus, and began systematically killing all members of our kinds and destroying all artifacts and documents related to us in any obvious way. After that, Cambyses and his parents, who managed to escape the crises by a combination of preperation and blind luck, settled in a hidden village in what is now the nation of Lebanon. Things were good for a time, but that changed in the 1100s, when European Crusaders began eliminating all aliens they could find on their way to Jerusalem. After that village was destroyed and his parents killed, Cambyses became a wanderer, travelling from place to place and avoiding humans whenever possible. He was possessed by Zs'Skayr soon after he arrived on Earth; I assume you all know about what happened after that."

When the stories were told, everyone was silent for a couple minutes in deep thought. Wind Walker's stories of his kind and those of Victor and Cambyses had basically change pretty much everything they thought they knew about the universe. Max broke the silence after several minutes.

"Wind Walker, do you have any idea what happened to Victor and Cambyses?" Wind Walker looked at Max gravely.

"Unfortunatly no; the portal that was created was highly unstable, and if my knowledge of that kind of portal is correct, a portal with enough instability could potentially allow one to travel across space and time. I have little to now idea of where they might have ended up."

Gwen spoke up when he finished. "When a portal between two places is made, their has to be an identical energy signature at both the beginning and end points. Maybe we could find Victor and Cambyses by tracking the same energy signature as the one made by the portal that sucked them in; that way if or when the portal opens, we can head to that location and try and find them. If the portal has already opened, at least we'd get an idea of their general location."

Wind Walker was in deep thought for a moment before he answered. "That is a plausible theory, but unfortunatly, I am missing some of the tools and materials needed to create a tracking device like the one you described." Max spoke up.

"I think Wes and I can provide the technology you need; if Victor is still alive, its best we find him before he finds us." Wind Walker nodded and got up before dousing a nearby bucket of water over what was left fo the flames. He then looked at everyone.

"Come with me; I will explain what items and supplies are needed." With that, he walked towards his craft/smithy/learning tent, with everyone else following close behind. Without even needing to discuss their plans, they had gained a new mission for the summer: find Cambyses and Victor, and stop any plans Victor might be enacting.

* * *

unbeknownst to them, Victor was already readying his plan with Dr. Animo. Cambyses had been taken out of his cell and was now secured to a large metal table with straps specifically designed to hold a Thep Khufan. Animo was overseeing the machines hooked up to Cambyses while Victor was making a few last-minute adjustments to the harness. When Victor was finished, he smirked and looked at his partner.

"The harness is ready; What about our test subject?" Animo briefly looked up from the readout to look at Victor. "Cambyses is secured, his neural activity is normal; he is ready to be bonded with the nanotech." Victor nodded and picked up the device. Upon seeing the device, Cambyses promptly increased his struggles, causing the neural activity moniter to spike slightly. Animo looked at him and spoke in a condescending voice.

"You do not need to worry Cambysesl their will be some discomfort at first, but by the time the nanotechnology fully integrates with your body, you'll feel **much **better." That last part of the sentence was spoken with a cruel smirk plastered on Animo's face. Cambyses continued to struggle, even though the effort is futile.

At a nod from Victor, Animo activated a lifter on the table that tilted it so that it was at an 80 degree angle up from the floor. Victor placed the harness on Cambyses chest, causing the clamps to immediatly snap down. Cambyses winced in pain as the clamp inserted the nanotech through a series of needles. Slowly, the bandages that made up Cambyses's turned a shiny, metallic silver as the nanotech flowed over them. Cambyses was starting to feel his whole body go numb, his vision was getting spotty, and his mind was fogging up. When the nanotech reached his hands, a hole appeared on the bottom of each wrist, while the bandages that acted as fingers turned into razor-sharp claws.

When the change was complete and Cambyses's whole body had turned silver, Animo undid the special straps that held Cambyses in place. When Cambyses was freed, he stumbled a bit before straightening up and staring at Victor and Animo with emotionless eyes. Animo took the chance to perform a simple test. "Cambyses, kneel to your new masters." Without the slightest hesitation, Cambyses kneeled before them and uttered "Master." in an emotionless voice. Victor and Animo basked in their accomplishment before they turned to each other, Animo looking especially pleased.

"It would appear that the harness is a complete success." Victor was more cautious. "Do not celebrate just yet Animo. We do not know the long-term effects of the nanotechnology, and I've had to improvise on several components. We must be wary that the control we have placed on Cambyses will last." Animo nodded before he replied.

"I will ready the beasts for my little sabbatical. Perhaps I should let a little information slip?" Victor nodded before answering. "Not enough so that the Tennyson boy gets suspicious." He smirked evily at what he said next. "I wish to see the look on Tennyson's face when we kill him." Animo nodded with a similar smirk crossing his face. Before long, they're revenge mission aganist Tennyson would be complete...and Cambyses would be the key to that.

* * *

Chapter 3 is complete! Yes! Sorry if any of you were getting impatient; the only reason the first two chapters were published within days of each other was because I had already completed them on my computer before I got a Fanfiction account, and this chapter was 3/4 complete. Therefore, expect longer delays then this for future chapters. Also, be on the lookout for my 6teen/Stoked crossover 8teen; I plan to have that published by the middle of May at the earliest. Now for the next chapter to begin. After the revelation of aliens in Ancient Earth by Wind Walker, Ben, Gwen, and Max are still reeling from the revelation. When Animo attacks a genetics lab in Boise, Idaho, And both Victor and Cambyses are located near that city, the three of them head up that way with Kai and Wind Walker in tow. They find out the hard way that Animo and Victor are working together, and that Cambyses is under their control. While trying to deal with those problems, they find that Victor's and Animo's plans are more extensive then originally believed...and that the fate of the earth is at stake. What will happen, and what will the consequences be? Me, the Prime Writer, will reveal the answers to you next time, on Ben 10...Ancient...Aliens.

P.S.: What do you think of my little homage to Total Drama at the end of my spiel?


	4. IMPORTANT MESSAGE

**Attention people, it has come to my attention, via my friend THE NIGHT'S RAGE, that the government is reconsidering the signing of the SOPA Bill. For those who may not know, SOPA stands for Stop Online Piracy Act, and it's intent is to expand the ability of U.S. Law Enforcement to combat online copyright-infringement and online trafficking in counterfeit materials. That bill would prevent search engines such as Google, Ask, Wikipedia, and Bing from linking to the found website links, prevent advertisement networks and payment facilities from conducting business with certain websites, and a number of internet service providers would have to block access to certain websites. It would also mean that people confirmed to be streaming copyrighted content without permission would receive 5 years in prison. Proponents state that SOPA will help protect the intellectual-property market and corresponding industry, jobs and revenue, and is necessary to bolster enforcement of copyright laws, especially against websites owned and operated by foreign nations. However, SOPA also threatens to inhibit the freedoms of speech and information, and law enforcement will be able to block access to entire internet domains if infringing content is posted on a single blog or post. Congress tried signing it a while back, and now their doing it again, but this time their going to try and do it more quietly. If it does get passed, then websites like YouTube, Wikipedia, the near infinite number of wikis across the internet, and Fanfiction will all be in danger of being shut down or greatly regulated by the government. And it's not just the American internet that's in peril; if SOPA is passed, it could start off a worldwide arms-race of unprecedented internet censorship. We the people of Fanfiction can help put a stop to this. Do not copy and paste this message, but you should spread the word, on and off the internet. Let as many people as you can tell, both on and off the internet, know about the SOPA Bill and what the consequences of it will be. Tell your friends in real life, post similar messages on your blogs, Fanfiction profile, Facebook page, Twitter page, and in your fanfiction and fanon stories. Tell others and spread the message, and together, we can get the government to drop the SOPA bill for good.**

**Till all are one, The Prime Writer.**


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